Augmented Reality Appearance Enhancement

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and devices are provided for altering an appearance of acquaintances when viewed through smart glasses, which may be altered using augmented reality technology. In particular, an embodiment of the invention is directed to allowing users to specify their appearances to others when viewed by others wearing smart glasses. The others viewing the user through smart glasses include friends, family, contacts, or other acquaintances, which may be specified in one or more social networks or contacts databases. The altered appearance that is displayed may be based on the particular relationship between the user and the viewer. For example, a user may appear as a particular superhero to his friends on a social network website, as having a cartoon feature (such as an enormous head) to his children, as normal to his mother and business contacts, and as wearing a Hawaiian shirt to his closest buddies.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/983,953, filed May 18, 2018 which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/674,572 filed on Mar. 31, 2015, which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/973,736, filedApr. 1, 2014. Each of U.S. application Ser. Nos. 15/983,953, 14/674,572and 61/973,736 are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention are defined by the claims below, not thissummary. A high-level overview of various aspects of the invention areprovided here for that reason, to provide an overview of the disclosure,and to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described inthe Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended toidentify key features or essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in isolation todetermine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In brief and at a high level, this disclosure describes, among otherthings, systems and methods for altering appearance of acquaintanceswith smart glasses, which may be altered using augmented realitytechnology. In particular, an embodiment of the invention is directed toallowing users to alter their physical appearance to others when viewedby others wearing smart glasses. In various embodiments, the othersviewing the user through smart glasses include friends, family,contacts, or other acquaintances of the user, such as may be specifiedin one or more social networks or contacts databases, and the user'saltered appearance is based on the particular relationship between theuser and the viewer. For example, a user may appear as a particularsuperhero to his friends on the Facebook social network, as having acartoon feature (such as an enormous head) to his children, as normal tohis mother and business contacts, and as wearing a Hawaiian shirt to hisclosest buddies. In an embodiment, the user specifies his or her alteredappearance for various sets of friends and acquaintances, which is thensaved in one or more appearance profiles. In some embodiments, the smartglasses run an app for presenting the altered appearances. In anembodiment, the app accesses a social network, contacts database, orobjects database for facilitating identifying a person or object viewedwith the smart glasses; accesses an appearance profile for theidentified person or object; determines a relationship between theviewer and the person or object; and renders an augmented appearance forthe person or object as specified based on the relationship.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for altering theappearance of a second person, when viewed through smart glasses worn bya first person, is provided. The method identifies the second person.The second person may be identified using information from one or moresocial networks or databases. The method further includes accessing moreprofiles information associated with the identified second person anddetermining augmented appearance conditions for the second person, basedon the profiles information. The profiles information can includeconditions for altering appearances of the user based on relationshipswith the second person, and may include (or point to) information usedfor altering the appearance. Finally, based on the determined augmentedappearance conditions, an augmented appearance is rendered and appliedto the second person.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described in detail belowwith reference to the attached drawing figures, and wherein:

FIGS. 1A-1D illustratively depict aspects of a wearable vision device(smart glasses) suitable for use with embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 1E depicts an illustrative representation showing logicalconnections among components of an example wearable vision device, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustratively depicts aspects of an example operatingenvironment suitable for using an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram of a method for altering the appearance of anobject, when viewed through smart glasses, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram of a method for creating an altered appearanceof a person or object to be displayed when viewed through smart glasses,based on one or more conditions, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 4A illustratively depicts an aspect of an example operatingenvironment suitable for using an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4B illustratively depicts aspects of user interfaces for creatingan altered appearance profile, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 5 illustratively depicts examples of altered appearances for auser, based on appearance profiles, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention; and

FIG. 6 illustratively depicts an example associated with the method ofFIG. 3A of identifying an object and applying an augmented appearanceonto the identified object based on an appearance profile, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter of the present invention is described withspecificity herein to meet statutory requirements. However, thedescription itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent.Rather, the inventor has contemplated that the claimed subject mattermight also be embodied in other ways, to include different steps orcombinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document, inconjunction with other present or future technologies. Moreover,although the term “step” may be used herein to connote differentelements of methods employed, the term should not be interpreted asimplying any particular order among or between various steps hereindisclosed unless and except when the order of individual steps isexplicitly described.

As one skilled in the art will appreciate, embodiments of the inventionmay be embodied as, among other things: a method, system, or set ofinstructions embodied on one or more computer-readable media.Accordingly, the embodiments may take the form of a hardware embodiment,a software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware.In one embodiment, the invention takes the form of a computer-programproduct that includes computer-usable instructions embodied on one ormore computer-readable media.

Computer-readable media include both volatile and nonvolatile media,removable and non-removable media, and contemplate media readable by adatabase, a switch, and various other network devices. By way ofexample, and not limitation, computer-readable media comprise mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storing information,including computer storage media and communications media. Examples ofstored information include computer-useable instructions, datastructures, program modules, and other data representations. Computerstorage media examples include, but are not limited to,information-delivery media, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or othermemory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile discs (DVDs), holographicmedia or other optical disc storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic disc storage, other magnetic storage devices, and other storagedevices. These technologies can store data momentarily, temporarily, orpermanently.

Embodiments of the invention are directed to methods, systems, andcomputer-readable media for altering the appearance of a user'sacquaintances with smart glasses, which may be altered using augmentedreality technology. People alter their appearance daily using physicalmeans, such as by using make-up, hairstyling, hair dyeing, clothing, andaccessories. Others choose to alter their appearance through tanning,dyeing their skin, and tattoos. All of these physical methods arelimited in how much they can alter an appearance. Some are costly andothers are permanent in nature. Accordingly, in one example embodiment,a software application allows a user to decorate themselves withartifacts that change their appearance when others view them throughaugmented reality glasses or smart glasses. The user is able to specifyhow they appear to others and will view others according to how othershave defined their appearance. In an embodiment, using augmented realitycoupled with the use of wearable vision devices such as smart glasses,people can alter and preview their appearance in real time and/or createan augmented appearance for others to view.

In particular, an embodiment of the invention is directed tofacilitating a user to alter his or her physical appearance to otherswhen viewed by others wearing smart glasses. In various embodiments, theothers viewing the user through smart glasses include, by way of exampleonly and not limitation, friends, family, contacts, selected friends, orother acquaintances of the user, such as may be specified in one or moresocial networks, contacts databases, or objects databases. A user'sappearance may be altered or augmented as specified based on theparticular relationship between the user and the viewer. For example, auser may determine he wants to appear as a particular superhero to hisfriends on the Facebook social network, as having a cartoon feature(such as an enormous head) to his children, as normal to his mother andbusiness contacts, and as wearing a Hawaiian shirt to his closestbuddies. In an embodiment, the user specifies his or her alteredappearance for various sets of friends and acquaintances. The user'sappearance preferences and conditions may be saved in one or moreappearance profiles associated with the user. In some embodiments, thesmart glasses operate with a software application (or app) thatfacilitates presenting the altered appearances. For example, in anembodiment, the app accesses a social network, contacts database, orobjects database for information to identify a person or object viewedwith the smart glasses. For example, a pattern or facial recognitionroutine may be used to identify objects or persons viewed through thesmart glasses. The app then accesses an appearances profile for theidentified person or object, determines a relationship between theviewer and person or object, and renders an augmented appearance for theperson or object as specified based on the relationship or otherconditions in the appearances profile. In an embodiment, objects caninclude pets, cars, houses, accessories (e.g., purses, watches, objectscarried by or used by someone), and other physical or virtual objects,including natural and manmade objects, capable of being viewed throughsmart glasses.

A further aspect of some embodiments of the invention is the capabilityof a user to specify his or her appearance to his or her various socialcontacts. By way of example and not limitation, a user may specify hisappearance to his various social contacts or types of social contacts,such as his family, close friends, work contacts, and the like. In anembodiment, a user is presented a user interface for facilitating thedetermining of their altered appearance for one or more social contactsor types of social contacts. For example, a user wearing smart glassesmay look into a mirror to see their reflection and using the userinterfaces, may select, design, or otherwise specify their appearancealteration for one or more of the user's social contacts or types ofsocial contacts. The user is thus able to view how they will appear toeach of these social contacts or types of contacts.

With reference to FIGS. 1A-1C, aspects of one example of a wearablevision device (e.g., smart glasses) are illustratively provided andreferred to generally herein as smart glasses 101. In variousembodiments, smart glasses 101 may be embodied as a wearable computerwith an optical-head-mounted display, transparent heads-up display,virtual retinal display or other display capable of providing augmentedreality overlay and digital images as well as allowing the user to seeportions of their surrounding environment. One embodiment of smartglasses 101 uses Google Glass manufactured by Google, Inc.

The example embodiment of smart glasses 101 shown in FIGS. 1A-1Cincludes a frame 120 configured to be wearable on the head of a user 160and to support a camera 110 and display component 115. Smart glasses 101include camera 110 configured to capture visual information aboutobjects or persons viewed using smart glasses 101, and display component115 for displaying digital images, such as user interface features,menus, application information, or metadata associated with real objectsviewed by the user-wearer and for providing augmented reality overlayonto objects viewed by the user-wearer, such as an altered appearance.Smart glasses 101 may also include other components such as a computerand a power supply, which are described in FIG. 1E, and a communicationscomponent for communicating over a network (such as the Internet), asdescribed in connection to FIG. 2. As used herein, the terms “smartglasses” and “wearable vision device” are used synonymously. Further, itis contemplated that these terms include embodiments implemented usingsmart contact lenses, direct retinal projection, heads-up type displaysystems, or any display system capable of providing augmented realityimagery.

With reference to FIG. 1D, an example operating environment andapplication using smart glasses 101 is illustratively provided. As shownin FIG. 1D, user 160 wearing smart glasses 101 views a person or object170 (here a person 170 walking towards user 160). Smart glasses 101detect the identity of person 170 and display to user 160 metadata 175about person 170. Metadata 175 includes information about person 170,such as name 176 (here “Jane”) and other details 178 about Jane, such asbirthday, pictures, or other similar information. Although FIG. 1D showsmetadata 175, it would only be visible to user 160 because it isprojected by smart glasses 101. Further, display component 115 (notshown) displays metadata 175 as an augmented reality overlay onto ornear the objects already visible to user 160, such as person 170.

Turning now to FIG. 1E, an exemplary operating environment showinglogical connections among components of one embodiment of a wearablevision device is shown and designated generally as computing device1000. Computing device 1000 is but one example of a suitable computingenvironment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to thescope of use or functionality of embodiments of the present invention.Neither should the computing device 1000 be interpreted as having anydependency or requirement relating to any one or combination ofcomponents illustrated.

Some embodiments of the present invention may be described in thegeneral context of computer code or machine-useable instructions,including computer-executable instructions, such as program components,being executed by a computer or other machine, such as a personal dataassistant or other handheld device. Generally, program componentsincluding routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, andthe like refer to code that performs particular tasks or implementsparticular abstract data types. Some embodiments of the presentinvention may be practiced in a variety of system configurations,including handheld devices, consumer electronics, general-purposecomputers, specialty computing devices, etc. Embodiments of theinvention may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote-processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network.

With continued reference to FIG. 1E, computing device 1000 includes abus 1010 that logically couples the following components: memory 1012,one or more processors 1014, one or more presentation components 1016,one or more I/O ports 1018, I/O components 1020, and an illustrativepower supply 1022. Bus 1010 represents what may be one or more busses(such as an address bus, data bus, or combination thereof). Although thevarious blocks of FIG. 1E are shown with lines for the sake of clarity,in reality, delineating various components is not so clear and,metaphorically, the lines would more accurately be grey and fuzzy. Forexample, one may consider a presentation component such as a displaydevice to be an I/O component. Also, memory component 1012 may includememory located in smart glasses 101, memory used for database 230(described in FIG. 2), and/or other computer system memory. Also,processors have memory. The inventors hereof recognize that such is thenature of the art and reiterate that the diagram of FIG. 1E is merelyillustrative of an exemplary computing device that can be used inconnection with one or more embodiments of the present invention.Distinction is not made between such categories as “workstation,”“server,” “laptop,” “handheld device,” “wearable device,” “mobiledevice,” etc., as all are contemplated within the scope of FIG. 1E andwith reference to “computer” or “computing device.”

Memory 1012 includes computer storage media in the form of volatileand/or nonvolatile memory. The memory may be removable, non-removable,or a combination thereof. Exemplary hardware devices include solid-statememory, hard drives, optical-disc drives, etc. Computing device 1000includes one or more processors 1014 that read data from variousentities such as memory 1012 or I/O components 1020. Presentationcomponent(s) 1016 present data indications to a user or other device.Exemplary presentation components include a display device such asdisplay component 115, speaker, printing component, vibrating component,etc. I/O ports 1018 allow computing device 1000 to be logically coupledto other devices including I/O components 1020, some of which may bebuilt-in. Illustrative I/O components include a button(s), camera(s),microphone(s), eye-movement detection, touch interface, joystick, gamepad, satellite dish, scanner, printer, wireless device, etc., and may bebuilt in or external.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a block diagram is illustrated, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention, showing an operatingenvironment 200 suitable for using an embodiment of the presentinvention. It will be understood and appreciated that operatingenvironment 200 shown in FIG. 2 is merely an example of one suitableoperating environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation asto the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the presentinvention. For instance, operating environment 200 may use a network 225that is public, private, or dedicated, and may use distributed orcloud-based computing. Neither should the operating environment 200 beinterpreted as having any dependency or requirement related to anysingle component or combination of components illustrated therein.Further, although the various blocks or components of FIG. 2 are shownwith lines for the sake of clarity, in reality, delineating variouscomponents is not so clear, and metaphorically, the lines would moreaccurately be grey and fuzzy. In addition, any number of physicalmachines, virtual machines, data centers, endpoints, or combinationsthereof may be employed to achieve the desired functionality within thescope of embodiments of the present invention.

Operating environment 200 includes one or more smart glasses 101, suchas described in connection to FIGS. 1A-1E. In various embodiments, smartglasses 101 include one or more processors (not shown), such asprocessor(s) 1014 described in FIG. 1E, which run one or more softwareapplications or apps (not shown) that facilitate identifying one or moreobjects, determining their relationship with the user-wearer, andrendering the altered appearances for the objects for display to theuser-wearer via the smart glasses 101. Smart glasses 101 arecommunicatively coupled to a network 225 which is communicativelycoupled to database 230 and social network(s)/contacts component 240.

Network 225 may include, without limitation, one or more local areanetworks (LANs) and/or wide area networks (WANs), which may comprise theInternet, one or more public networks, private networks, and/or one ormore other communications networks, such as a cellular network orsimilar network(s) for facilitating communication among devicesconnected through the network. Network 225 may be determined based onfactors such as the source and destination of the informationcommunicated over network 225, the path between the source anddestination, or the nature of the information. For example,intra-organization or internal communication may use a private networkor virtual private network (VPN). Moreover, in some embodiments, itemsshown communicatively coupled to network 225 may be directlycommunicatively coupled to other items shown communicatively coupled tonetwork 225.

Example operating environment 200 also includes database 230, which maybe embodied as a distributed database (or set of databases), or storedinformation across one or more datastores, which may be located in smartglasses 101, a server or computer, networked storage, or cloud-basedstorage. Accordingly, although depicted as a single database, database230 may comprise one or more databases, and further may be in the cloud.

Database 230 includes one or more appearance profiles 250. Appearanceprofiles 250 include information specifying appearance preferences andconditions for applying appearances to objects identified by smartglasses 101. In an embodiment, appearance profiles 250 include one ormore appearance-information settings or sets used for facilitatingaltering the appearance of a person or object. In an embodiment,appearance profiles 250 may include the information used for renderingthe altered or augmented appearances, such as graphics information, ormay include an address or pointer to locations (e.g., local, remote, orcloud-based storage locations) containing such graphics information. Inan embodiment, appearance profiles 250 further includeconditions-settings including, for example, relationship conditionsbetween the user-wearer and the person or objected whose appearance isaltered and/or other conditions for determining which alteredappearances should be applied, how the altered appearances should beapplied or modified, and when the appearances are applied. By way ofexample and not limitation, database 230 may include appearance profiles250 including a first appearance profile for close friends thatspecifies a superhero, a second appearance profile for family thatspecifies a humorous enormous cartoon head but only until a time thatthe children are to go to sleep (e.g., 8:30 pm), a third appearanceprofile for business clients that specifies a company logo to appear onthe chest, and a fourth appearance profile for all friends and familythat specifies a favorite team mascot during a day that the team plays.Accordingly, in the preceding example, database 230 includes appearanceprofiles that include relationship condition-settings that specifyparticular altered appearances for various relationships (e.g., (1)close friends, (2) family, (3) business clients, and (4) all friends andfamily) between the user-wearer and person or object whose appearance isto be altered. The preceding example also includes examples ofcondition-settings specifying a limited time that a person or objectappears with humorous enormous cartoon head to his family (until 8:30pm) and condition-settings specifying that for a particular date (a gameday) the user is to appear to all of their friends and family as a teammascot. In some embodiments, the condition-settings can be prioritized.So for the preceding example, on game day before 8:30 pm, the user wouldappear as a mascot rather than with an enormous cartoon head.

By way of example and not limitation, FIG. 5 depicts example augmentedappearances, which may be contained in appearance profiles 250 for aperson named Bob Jones. Box 501 of FIG. 5 shows an image of Bob Jones.Boxes 502, 503, and 504 show various augmented appearances for Bob Jonesbased on relationship conditions. In particular, box 502 shows how BobJones is to appear to his close friends; box 503 shows how he is toappear to his gaming friends; and box 504 shows how he is to appear tohis family. Accordingly, in an example embodiment, suppose a userwearing smart glasses 101 viewed Bob Jones. An app running on the smartglasses 101, accesses social network(s)/contacts component 240(described below) and identifies Bob Jones and determines that Bob Jonesis a close friend. The app then accesses an associated appearanceprofile and determines that Bob Jones has specified that his closefriends are to view him, as shown in box 502, as a superhero.

Returning to appearance profiles 250 of FIG. 2, in some embodiments,condition-settings can specify how an object or person is to appear to aspecified person, rather than based on a relationship between theuser-wearer and person or object. For example, an appearance profilethat specifies that a person should always be presented without anyaugmented appearance when the user-wearer is mom; or that John Smithshould always appear as a particular movie character when viewed by hisbest friend Sam Jones. In some embodiments, a user-wearer determines hisor her augmented appearance(s) to his or her social contacts andcorresponding condition-settings, which are then stored in one or moreappearance profiles 250, as further discussed with reference to FIG. 3B.

In some embodiments, the user can also determine how persons or objectsare presented to him or herself or others in their social contacts. Forexample, a dad can specify that the family dog should appear with anenormous cartoon tail when viewed by other members of the family, or amom can specify that the family's house appears to move and have fangson Halloween when viewed by the children and their friends. A school busdriver could specify that his or her school bus appears with a smilingface and a particular color when viewed by the children that aresupposed to ride that bus. Such appearances and condition-settings arethen stored in one or more appearance profiles 250.

Example operating environment 200 also includes a socialnetwork(s)/contacts component 240, which may be embodied as a socialnetwork site (such as Facebook or Twitter) or a contacts database (suchas email contacts) associated with the user-wearer of smart glasses 101.In some embodiments, social network(s)/contacts component 240 isembodied as a server, website, database, or program running locally,remotely, or in the cloud that includes information regardingrelationships between the user-wearer and other entities (objects,people, or groups of people) on the social network(s)/contractscomponent 240. For example only and not as a limitation, socialnetwork(s)/contacts component 240 may include information specifyingthose persons (or objects) that are a user-wearer's close friends,family, clients, selected friends, spouse, business contacts, friendgroups, other acquaintances, pets, cars or homes, and the like. In someembodiments, social network(s)/contacts component 240 further includesidentification functionality or identification information forfacilitating identification by an application running on smart glasses101 of persons or objects for which appearances are to be altered whenviewed through smart glasses 101. For example, in an embodiment theidentification information may be used by a pattern recognition orfacial recognition routine to identify objects or persons viewed throughthe smart glasses 101.

In some embodiments, an application or app running on smart glasses 101accesses the information in social network(s)/contacts component 240over network 225 to facilitate determining the identity of an object orperson viewed through smart glasses 101 and then the relationship of theidentified person or object to the user-wearer of the smart glasses 101.In some embodiments, an application or app running on socialnetworks/contacts component 240 provides such information over network225 to smart glasses 101. In some embodiments social network(s)/contactscomponent 240 includes database 230.

Turning now to FIG. 3A, a flow diagram of a method for altering theappearance of an object, when viewed through smart glasses, is providedand referred to generally herein as method 300. At a step 310, an object(which may include a person) viewed through the smart glasses isidentified. In an embodiment, a software application or app running onsmart glasses accesses a social network, contacts database, or objectsdatabase, such as social network(s)/contacts component 240 of FIG. 2,for information to identify a person or object viewed with the smartglasses. For example, a pattern or facial recognition routine may beused to identify objects or persons viewed through the smart glasses.Once the object (which may be a person) is identified, at step 320,profiles information associated with the object is accessed. In anembodiment, one or more appearance profiles 250 associated with theidentified object or including information for augmenting the appearanceof the object, are accessed and used to determine appearance conditionsassociated with the identified object. In an embodiment, appearanceprofiles reside in a database such as database 230 described in FIG. 2.

At a step 330, method 300 determines augmented appearance conditionsbased on the profiles information associated with the object. In anembodiment, appearance conditions are specified by one or moreappearance profiles, such as appearance profiles 250 described inconnection to FIG. 2. In an embodiment, condition-settings includerelationship-settings between the identified object and the user-wearer.Accordingly, in an embodiment, step 330 determines appearance conditionsor how the identified object should appear to the user-wearer, based onthe relationship between the object and user-wearer and/or otherconditions (such as time constraints like the examples discussed abovein connection with FIG. 2). FIG. 5 illustratively provides an example ofappearances for an object (here, a person named Bob Jones), thatincludes relationship conditions specifying how Bob Jones is to appearto viewers based on their relationship to Bob Jones.

Returning to FIG. 3A, at a step 340, an augmented or altered appearanceis rendered and applied onto the object. In an embodiment, appearanceprofiles 250 include the information used for rendering the altered oraugmented appearances, such as graphics information (e.g., graphicsimages, templates, animations, motion paths, or other graphicsinformation), or may include an address or pointer to locations (e.g.,local, remote, or cloud-based storage locations) containing suchgraphics information. In an embodiment, all appearance alterations ofthe object (such as movement of the object including rotation, skew,distance from the user-wearer, and the like, including movement of theobject relative to the user-wearer who might be the one moving) aretracked and synchronized so that the augmented or altered appearance ispresented proportionally and consistently based on the relative positionof the object to the user-viewer.

FIG. 6 illustratively provides aspects of method 300. At a high level,in an embodiment, as a user-wearer views a person or object, anapplication running on his or her smart glasses 101 accesses socialmedia or a database (such as component 240 of FIG. 2) to identify theperson or object and relationship to the person or object. Theapplication then determines augmented appearance conditions for theobject, which may be determined by one or more appearance profiles 250.In an embodiment, if the object or person is identified, an augmentedappearance is transmitted to smart glasses 101 (or accessed via the apprunning on smart glasses 101) and subsequently rendered and over laidonto the object or person. In an embodiment, a small“picture-in-picture” image is provided to the user-wearer to see how heor she appears to others, based on his or her relationship (or othercondition-settings) to the other viewer.

As shown in box 610, an object (here, an as-of-yet unidentified BobJones) is shown and represents what is viewed through smart glasses 101.Box 610 corresponds to step 310 of method 300, prior to identifying theobject. Box 640 shows Bob Jones with augmented appearance (here, as asuperhero). Box 640 also indicates that the object (Bob Jones) isidentified as Bob Jones and is a close friend. It is contemplated thatsome embodiments do not necessarily display Bob Jones' name nor therelationship as shown in box 640. Box 640 corresponds to steps 310through 340 of method 300.

Turning now to FIG. 3B, a flow diagram is provided of a method forcreating an altered appearance of a person or object to be displayedwhen viewed through smart glasses, based on one or more conditions, andreferred to generally as method 301. In an embodiment, a person wearingsmart glasses 101 applies method 301 to determine conditions specifyinghow he or she (or in some embodiments how 3^(rd) parties or objects)will appear to their various social contacts. At a step 311, appearanceparameters are received. In an embodiment, a user specifies appearanceparameters using a user interface, such as a graphical user interface(e.g., a menu), hand gestures, and/or speech recognition, for example.In an embodiment, appearance parameters include information specifyinghow the user (or 3^(rd) party or object) is to appear and may alsoinclude graphics information and information relating to renderingaugmented appearances (such as size/proportion information, color(s),animation, or the like). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, appearanceparameters may be used to provide graphics information for the augmentedappearances shown in boxes 502, 503, and 504.

At a step 321, appearance conditions are received. In an embodiment, auser specifies appearance conditions using a similar user interface asdescribed in step 311. In an embodiment, appearance conditions mayinclude information specifying one or more relationship conditionsbetween the user (or a 3^(rd) party or object) and the user's socialcontacts for which to display an augmented appearance based on theappearance parameters received in step 311. In an embodiment appearanceconditions may include other conditions, such as time constraints (e.g.,altering the appearance to be a team mascot but only on game day) fordisplaying an augmented appearance based on the appearance parametersreceived in step 311.

At a step 331, the received appearance parameters and conditions arestored. In an embodiment, these parameters and conditions are stored inone or more appearance profiles 250, which may reside in database 230 ora social network, such as social network(s)/contacts component 240.

FIGS. 4A and 4B depict aspects of method 301. With reference to FIG. 4A,at a high level and in an embodiment, a user 460 wearing smart glasses101 stands before a mirror 402 and sees her reflection 461 in the mirror402. With reference to FIG. 4B, the user may be presented with one ormore user interfaces, such as menus 440 and 470, which may be used fordetermining the user's augmented appearance(s) when viewed by one ormore social-contacts profiles. The user navigates menus 440 and 470 viahand gestures, by speaking, eye motion (such as looking at a particularmenu item) or some other I/O component.

Menu 440 comprises a profile settings menu and includes menu itemsrelating to a user's various social-contacts groups. For example, menu440 includes friends, close friends, family, selected friends, gamingcommunity, clients, contacts, and other. Additionally, menu 440 includesa “private” option and a “public” option, which may be selected forspecifying a user's public profile (e.g., how the user may appear toeveryone else outside of the user's social contacts) or private profile(how the user appears to designated social-contact groups or only to theuser).

Menu 470 comprises an appearance settings menu and includes menu itemsrelating to altering the user's appearance. For example, menu 470includes basic attributes 472, such as hair color, eye color, skincolor, fingernail color, tattoos, outfits, and accessories (e.g., belts,glasses, hats, jewelry, scarves, watches, and the like). Example menu470 also includes other appearance options 474, such as species (e.g.,human, Klingon or other alien, dog, lizard, ape, fish, or otherspecies), anime, cartoon, non-organic life form, body size, and featuresize (e.g., head, eyes, arms, or other body feature size). Example menu470 also includes emotion appearance 476, which applies an emotion(e.g., happy, sad, or other emotion) to the altered appearance selectedby the user; a customize appearance menu item 478, which may be used forcustomizing (such as altering or changing visual attributes (e.g.,color, size, number of horns, etc.)) or adding or deleting aspects ofother appearance items determined in menu 470; and an import appearanceinformation item 479, which may be used to import additional appearancesettings into menu 470 (such as new menu items or options), for example,new species or new basic attributes.

Using menus 440 and 470, a user specifies his or her appearance for eachof the social-contacts groups (including public or private) that theuser wishes to specify an appearance. In this example embodiment, theuser-determined specifications are then saved to one or more appearanceprofiles 250 associated with the user. A user may also use menus 440 and470 to specify other conditions for altered appearance (such as timeconstraints). These conditions are also stored in appearance profiles250. In an embodiment, the user views the altered appearance overlaidonto their reflection 461, for a particular social-contacts profile, asthe user is specifying their altered appearance and conditions for thealtered appearance. In an embodiment, the user can make changes to thealtered appearance in real time and view the changes in real time. Forexample, the user may select a cartoon head and then change the headsize (feature size) in small increments until they are satisfied withthe size.

In some embodiments, the user may specify appearances for a 3^(rd) partyor objects (such as via the “other” item in menu 440). In suchembodiments, this appearance information is saved in one or moreappearance profiles 250 associated with the 3^(rd) party or object orassociated with the user and the 3^(rd) party or object. Thus forexample, a father may specify an altered appearance (using menu 470) ofthe family dog (an object) when viewed by his family (a social-contactsgroup in menu 440). The father's specifications may be saved in anappearance profile 250 associated with the dog. In an embodiment,information about the father's specifications may also be saved insocial network(s)/contacts component 240, such as specifying arelationship between the object and the social contacts of the father(e.g., his family). Thus, in an embodiment, upon identification of thedog (object) and determination of a relationship with the dog (object),such as based on information in social media or socialnetwork(s)/contacts component 240, another family member viewing the dog(object) will be presented an augmented appearance of the dog (object)based on that relationship. Here, because the other family memberviewing the dog (object) is determined to have a relationship satisfiedby a relationship condition set by the father (e.g., the condition thatthe other family member is a member of the father's family, or that thedog (identified object) is associated with members of the family becauseit is the family dog), the appearance of the dog is altered according tothe appearance settings specified by the father, which may be includedin an appearance profile 250.

Many variations can be made to the illustrated embodiments of thepresent invention without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. Such modifications are within the scope of the presentinvention. For example, in one scenario, a user stands in front of amirror wearing smart glasses 101, which overlays onto the user's visionof their reflection in the mirror a variety of menu choices to alter howthe user will be viewed by others wearing smart glasses. The user mayselect from the menu options using hand and voice gestures. Choicesinclude but are not limited to conventional appearance alterations: skincolor, hair color, eye color, fingernail color, tattoos, outfits andaccessories. Choices may also include unconventional, “avatar-like”appearance alterations including: species, anime, cartoons, non-organiclife forms, and body size. Further, all appearance alterations arelinked to the wearer and are synchronized with the wearer's movements.

Further, the user may select several different appearances and profiles.They can assign public and private appearances based on who might beviewing them. For example, the user can set a “public appearance” thatanyone who is outside his friends list will see him as a blue lion withyellow eyes. He may set a “private appearance” for his friends to viewhim as a chrome humanoid with one eye. As others wearing smart glassesview him, they connect to social media to identify him. If he is afriend, his private appearance will be transmitted to overlay him. If hecannot be identified via social media or is not a friend, a default sitemay transmit his public appearance to those viewing him. Conversely, hemay view the altered appearance of the person viewing him. In a smallprojected “picture-in-picture” type image, he may see how the otherperson views him. He can change his assigned appearance at any timeusing voice or hand gestures, for example.

As another example, embodiments of the invention may be used for emotiondisplay. For example, users can alter their appearance to project theiremotion either by including visual cues on themselves or the frame thatsurrounds them; environment, for example, users can frame themselves ina custom environment, such as a favorite place like Hawaii, the top ofMt. Everest, or some fanciful location like Smurf Village; gaming, forexample, users can dress in their favorite role playing attire andinteract with others they meet (e.g., knights in armor with virtualswords for fighting).

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all ends and objects hereinabove set forth togetherwith the other advantages, which are clear following the completedisclosure above and which are inherent to the methods and apparatusesdescribed herein. It will be understood that certain features andsubcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference toother features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and iswithin the scope of the invention.

Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative of applications of the principles of thisinvention, and not in a limiting sense.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method of altering a reflection image of an object,when viewed through a computerized wearable vision device, the methodcomprising: capturing, by a camera, an image of a user that is areflection of a user's appearance; accessing a database server, thedatabase server comprising a plurality of profiles including a firstappearance profile, the first appearance profile including graphicsinformation and an appearance condition, the graphics informationcomprising at least one graphics object, and the appearance conditionspecifying an augmented appearance based on the graphics information;identifying the user, based on the accessing the database server, bydetermining that the captured image is the image of the user;determining that the first appearance profile is associated with theuser, based on the identification of the user; determining at least oneaugmented appearance associated with the user, based on the graphicsinformation and the appearance condition; augmenting the captured imageof the user with the at least one graphics object by rendering andapplying the at least one graphics object onto the captured image; anddisplaying on the computerized wearable vision device, an augmentedimage comprising the rendered at least one graphics object based on theaugmentation of the captured image of the user.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the reflection of the user's appearance is received from amirror.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the camera is a component ofthe computerized wearable vision device.
 5. The method of claim 2,wherein the identification of the user is determined using a pattern orfacial recognition computer program routine.
 6. The method of claim 2,further comprising: displaying a graphical user interface comprising amenu, the menu configured to enable the user to specify the appearancecondition or the graphics information.
 7. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising: augmenting the captured image with the graphical userinterface comprising a menu, by rendering and applying the graphicaluser interface comprising a menu onto the captured image.
 8. The methodof claim 7, wherein the graphical user interface comprising a menu isrendered as a picture-in-picture on the captured image.
 9. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the graphics information comprises at least one of anoutfit, or an accessory, and wherein the appearance condition comprisesat least one of a size condition, a proportion condition, or a colorcondition.
 10. Computer-readable media having computer-usableinstructions embodied thereon that, when executed by a computerprocessor, enable the processor to perform a method of altering adigital image, the method comprising: capturing, by a camera, thedigital image that is a reflection of an appearance of a first user;accessing a database server, the database server comprising a pluralityof user profiles; associating the captured digital image with a firstuser profile of the plurality of user profiles; accessing, on thedatabase server, an appearance profile associated with the first userprofile, the appearance profile including graphics information and anappearance condition, the graphics information comprising at least onegraphics object, and the appearance condition specifying an augmentedappearance based on the graphics information; causing to display agraphical user interface comprising a menu, the menu configured toenable the first user to specify the appearance condition or thegraphics information; determining an altered appearance of the digitalimage based on the appearance condition and graphics information;augmenting the digital image with the at least one graphics object byrendering and applying the at least one graphics object onto the digitalimage; and causing to display the rendered at least one graphics objectbased on the augmentation of the digital image.
 11. Thecomputer-readable media of claim 10, further comprising: augmenting thedigital image with the graphical user interface comprising a menu, byrendering and applying the graphical user interface comprising a menuonto the digital image.
 12. The computer-readable media of claim 10,wherein the altered appearance is determine based on a selection by thefirst user via the menu.
 13. The computer-readable media of claim 10,wherein the appearance condition comprises at least onecondition-setting specifying how the captured image of the first user isto appear to the first user.
 14. The computer-readable media of claim10, wherein the appearance condition includes a condition relating tohow and when the at least on graphics object is to be displayed.
 15. Thecomputer-readable media of claim 10, wherein causing to display thegraphical user interface and the rendered at least one graphics objectcomprises causing to display on a computerized wearable vision device.16. The computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein associating thecaptured digital image with the first user profile further comprises:identifying the first user based on the captured digital image anddetermining the first user profile corresponding to the first user. 17.The computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the graphicsinformation comprises at least one of an outfit, or an accessory, andwherein the appearance condition comprises at least one of a sizecondition, a proportion condition, or a color condition.
 18. A systemfor of altering a digital image, comprising: at least one processor; adisplay device: computer storage media having computer-executableinstructions stored thereon which, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, implement a method comprising: capturing the digital image;accessing a database server, the database server comprising a pluralityof user profiles; associating the captured digital image with a firstuser profile of the plurality of user profiles; accessing, on thedatabase server, an appearance profile associated with the first userprofile, the appearance profile including graphics information and anappearance condition, the graphics information comprising at least onegraphics object, and the appearance condition specifying an augmentedappearance based on the graphics information; determining an alteredappearance of the digital image based on the appearance condition andgraphics information; augmenting the digital image with the at least onegraphics object by rendering and applying the at least one graphicsobject onto the digital image; and causing to display on the displaydevice the rendered at least one graphics object based on theaugmentation of the digital image.
 19. The system of claim 18, furthercomprising: a camera component configured to capture the digital image.20. The system of claim 18, further comprising: displaying a graphicaluser interface comprising a menu, the menu configured to enable thefirst user to specify the appearance condition or the graphicsinformation.
 21. The system of claim 18, wherein causing to display thegraphical user interface comprising a menu and the rendered at least onegraphics object comprises causing to display on a computerized wearablevision device.